The significance of the placental genome and methylome in fetal and maternal health.

ABSTRACT: The placenta is a crucial organ for supporting a healthy pregnancy, and defective development or function of the placenta is implicated in a number of complications of pregnancy that affect both maternal and fetal health, including maternal preeclampsia, fetal growth restriction, and spontaneous preterm birth. In this review, we highlight the role of the placental genome in mediating fetal and maternal health by discussing the impact of a variety of genetic alterations, from large whole-chromosome aneuploidies to single-nucleotide variants, on placental development and function. We also discuss the placental methylome in relation to its potential applications for refining diagnosis, predicting pathology, and identifying genetic variants with potential functional significance. We conclude t

SUBMITTER: Del Gobbo GF 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7093232 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature